Priority service process for serving data units on a network

Abstract

Serving data units on a network includes queuing data units from a first application in a first buffer, queuing data units from a second application in a second buffer, moving data units from the second buffer to the first buffer following a predetermined delay, and serving data units from the first buffer.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A method of serving data units on a network, comprising: 
 queuing data units from a first application in a first buffer;    queuing data units from a second application in a second buffer;    moving data units from the second buffer to the first buffer following a predetermined delay; and    serving data units from the first buffer.    
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the data units from the first application have a higher priority for transmission on the network than the data units from the second application.  
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the data units from the first application and the data units from the second application are served from the first buffer on a first-come-first-served basis.  
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising: 
 discarding data units from the first application that exceed a first time delay; and    discarding data units from the second application that exceed a second time delay.    
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the second time delay exceeds the predetermined time delay.  
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the data units from the second buffer are moved to an end of the first buffer after data units from the first application.  
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising: 
 determining a time to move the data units from the second buffer to the first buffer.    
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein a circular buffer, a pointer and a timer are used to determine the time to move the data units from the second buffer to the first buffer.  
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising: 
 serving data units from the second buffer when the first buffer is empty.    
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the data units comprise Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) cells and the network comprises an ATM network.  
     
     
         11 . A computer program stored on a computer-readable medium for serving data units on a network, the computer program comprising instructions to: 
 queue data units from a first application in a first buffer;    queue data units from a second application in a second buffer;    move data units from the second buffer to the first buffer following a predetermined delay; and    serve data units from the first buffer.    
     
     
         12 . The computer program of  claim 11 , wherein the data units from the first application have a higher priority for transmission on the network than the data units from the second application.  
     
     
         13 . The computer program of  claim 11 , wherein the data units from the first application and the data units from the second application are served from the first buffer on a first-come-first-served basis.  
     
     
         14 . The computer program of  claim 11 , further comprising instructions to: 
 discard data units from the first application that exceed a first time delay; and    discard data units from the second application that exceed a second time delay.    
     
     
         15 . The computer program of  claim 14 , wherein the second time delay exceeds the predetermined time delay.  
     
     
         16 . The computer program of  claim 11 , wherein the data units from the second buffer are moved to an end of the first buffer after data units from the first application.  
     
     
         17 . The computer program of  claim 11 , further comprising instructions to: 
 determine a time to move the data units from the second buffer to the first buffer.    
     
     
         18 . The computer program of  claim 17 , wherein a circular buffer, a pointer and a timer are used to determine the time to move the data units from the second buffer to the first buffer.  
     
     
         19 . The computer program of  claim 11 , further comprising instructions to: 
 serve data units from the second buffer when the first buffer is empty.    
     
     
         20 . The computer program of  claim 11 , wherein the data units comprise Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) cells and the network comprises an ATM network.  
     
     
         21 . An apparatus for serving data units on a network, comprising: 
 a first buffer to queue data units from a first application;    a second buffer to queue data units from a second application; and    a controller to (i) move data units from the second buffer to the first buffer following a predetermined delay, and (ii) serve data units from the first buffer.    
     
     
         22 . The apparatus of  claim 21 , wherein the data units from the first application have a higher priority for transmission on the network than the data units from the second application.  
     
     
         23 . The apparatus of  claim 21 , wherein the data units from the first application and the data units from the second application are served from the first buffer on a first-come-first-served basis.  
     
     
         24 . The apparatus of  claim 21 , wherein the controller discards data units from the first application that exceed a first time delay, and discards data units from the second application that exceed a second time delay.  
     
     
         25 . The apparatus of  claim 24 , wherein the second time delay exceeds the predetermined time delay.  
     
     
         26 . The apparatus of  claim 21 , wherein the data units from the second buffer are moved to an end of the first buffer after data units from the first application.  
     
     
         27 . The apparatus of  claim 21 , wherein the controller determines a time to move the data units from the second buffer to the first buffer.  
     
     
         28 . The apparatus of  claim 27 , wherein the controller uses a circular buffer, a pointer and a timer to determine the time to move the data units from the second buffer to the first buffer.  
     
     
         29 . The apparatus of  claim 21 , wherein the controller serves data units from the second buffer when the first buffer is empty.  
     
     
         30 . The apparatus of  claim 21 , wherein the data units comprise Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) cells and the network comprises an ATM network.